iClicker Cloud

Parent Page(s): Student Response Systems

Engage students and stimulate discussion with real-time questions and interactive activities.

Integrating iClicker questions into your course can help to increase student engagement by giving students more opportunities to respond to instructor prompts and actively check their understanding of course content. iClicker provides a simple tool that is fully supported and integrated with Canvas, making it easy to engage your students and track attendance. iClicker Cloud offers the flexibility of asking various types of questions from your own devices while distance teaching. Students can participate using mobile devices or laptops.

Ideas and Strategies    Comparison Chart

How does iClicker Cloud work?

iClicker Cloud is accessed through a web-based application that allows students to instantly provide feedback and answer questions posed by their instructors. The questions can be displayed via any applications of the instructor’s choice during class. After students respond to a question, individual student responses are recorded on the instructor’s account. The instructor can then view responses and/or share anonymized answers with students on their lecture screens. The instructor can use the results to stimulate class discussion or go over the explanation that leads to the correct answer.

Note: Please note that although most iClicker Cloud data is stored in Canada and complies with FIPPA, names and email addresses students use for their accounts will be stored outside of Canada; thus, students may wish to use a pseudonym and anonymous email address when signing up.

 

Pose a question

Create a question (i.e. multiple choice, short answer, true/false, multiple-answer, numeric answer, and target/hot spot).

Respond

Students respond with mobile devices, or laptops.

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Track Performance

See and record results instantly!

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Engage

Display results to promote discussion and activity.

How can iClicker Cloud help me?

Using iClicker helps to increase the level of student engagement in a large enrolment class through the intentional design of questions and activities that require student responses (hence Response Systems). iClicker also can help instructors in the following ways:

  • gauge the level of knowledge of the students at the beginning of class or provide accountability for completing out of class readings or online work
  • gauge how the level of knowledge has changed as a result of class activities
  • determine the distribution of views of students on a topic, or a case study to stimulate discussion
  • use clickers to administer short quizzes to reduce marking.
  • discuss problems with classmates to encourage peer learning

Advantages

  • iClicker Cloud is free for UBC users.
  • iClicker is fully integrated with Canvas, allowing you to upload responses stored on the instructor’s account directly into the Canvas Grades to track responses or participation for grades.
  • You can use anything (such as PowerPoint, Word document, etc.) to display questions, as iClicker Cloud does not require the questions to be in any particular application.
  • Students have the option to use their mobile devices, laptops, or their iClicker remote to respond to iClicker Cloud questions.

Limitations

  • Point values cannot be directly allocated for attendance in iClicker Cloud. Instead, you can set up participation scoring rules in settings or manually reward points to reflect iClicker attendance records in Canvas grades.
  • Question types are limited to multiple choice, short answer, true/false, multiple-answer, numeric answer, and target/hot spot in iClicker Cloud.
  • Exit polls are currently not available for UBC courses.
  • Requires a 64-bit processor running Windows 8 or newer with .NET 4.5 or higher; or macOS High Sierra (10.13) or newer.

Getting Started

Download Instructions: 

  1. Go to the iClicker Cloud download page.
  2. Select Windows or Mac to download the application.

Create iClicker Account: 

  1. Open the iClicker Cloud application that was downloaded.
  2. Click Create Account on the login screen.
  3. Enter “UBC” as your primary institution, and choose University of British Columbia when it appears in the dropdown.
  4. Fill in the rest of the form.
    • You can skip the Instructor Remote ID, as this field only applies to face-to-face classes.
    • Class times are only relevant if you plan to let iClicker take attendance automatically at class times.
  5. Agree to the privacy policy and use of personal information, then click Create.

Create and Sync your iClicker course with Canvas:

  1. Create an iClicker Course. Instructions.
  2. Enable iClicker Sync in your Canvas course by going to Settings > Navigation
  3. Click three dots beside iClicker Sync > Enable
  4. Save the change.
  5. Integrate iClicker course and Canvas course by following the below steps.
    1. Click iClicker Sync link in the  Canvas menu.
    2. Click authorize if prompted.
    3. Click Link Course, select the iClicker course name, and click Next.
    4. Select the section and click Save and Link Courses.

Note: If there are multiple sections merged into your Canvas course site and you would like to run iClicker separately for each section, you will need to create an iClicker course for each section (the step 1 above) and link each section to the separate iClicker course (the step 5 above).

I would like to learn how to…

iClicker Cloud can be used to capture student responses and gauge student participation. You will only need to create your questions externally. This gives you the flexibility to use any program that you are familiar with such as MS Word and PowerPoint to create these questions. iClicker Cloud will automatically take a snapshot of your question during the lecture and a) send this image to students to view when they respond to the question and b) store this image for your reference in reviewing results.

When you are preparing questions to present in iClicker, you have a couple of options with what kind of questions you are able to ask. The following question types are available to you in the iClicker software.

  • Multiple choice: Students will have to choose one answer from the options provided
  • Short Answer: Students will see a text box where they are able to enter in their answer
  • Numeric: Students will see a text box where they are able to enter in a numeric answer
  • Target: Students will be able to click a spot on the screenshot to select an answer

An example of a question on a PPT slide is shown below. Select the appropriate and question type and click the green arrow to start polling.

To run an iClicker session, follow the below steps:

  1. Open the iClicker Cloud application
  2. Sign in to your account
  3. Hover over the course name and click Start Class

  4. Open the application which has your questions (MS Word/PPT).
  5. Click the Poll button. Select the question type.

  6. Click the three dots to change the settings for anonymity and the timer count.
  7. Click the Play button in the green circle to start the poll.
  8. Click the Red Stop button in order to end the poll when you would like to end the poll.

To edit your session in iClicker Cloud,

  1. Navigate to your Canvas course and go to iClicker Sync.
  2. Click Launch iClicker Cloud.
  3. Select the iClicker course.
  4. Click the Class History option from the menu options.
  5. Select the session you want to edit from the “Activity” column.
  6. To edit the poll settings, click on the three dots on the top right corner.
    1. A new window is displayed. You may change the default settings for performance and participation here. Learn more: Instructions.
  7. To edit a question, click on the Question you want to edit. A new sliding window will be displayed. You may edit the correct answer and the points in this window. Learn more about grading and editing questions: Instructions.

iClicker attendance tool does not convert attendance to any point value. To work around this, it is recommended to mark “attendance” through students’ participation through polling. Here are the steps on setting up participation marks.

  1. Navigate to your Canvas course and go to iClicker Sync.
  2. Click Launch iClicker Cloud.
  3. Select the course you would like to track attendance for.
  4. Click on Settings on the left side menu
  5. Select the Polling tab at the top of the page
  6. Under the Scoring section, customize the items in Session Participation. Students will get the points depending on the option chosen by you in the dropdown menu.
  7. Click on Save at the top right corner of the page.

  1. Go to iClicker Sync in your Canvas course.
  2. Click Launch iClicker Cloud.
  3. Select the course that you want to start a class for.
  4. Click Start Class on the top left.
  5. Click “Yes, start attendance” in the pop-up window.
  6. Once a class session is started, a panel on the right side will pop up. Students who “check in” will be marked down for attendance. Click the arrow beside “Checked In” or “Not Checked In” to view students’ names.
  7. (Optional) You may now launch a poll or a quiz to engage with your students.
  8. Click “End Class” to end the iClicker session.
  9. To review your attendance data, click on “Attendance” from the left side menu. Note: Starting attendance in iClicker will mark the students as “Present” or “Absent”. If you would like to reward points for attendance, it is best to ask a question and reward equal points for correct and incorrect options, or to follow the steps in the above topic, “Set up my iClicker course to track attendance”.
  10. To review your iClicker session, click “Class History” from the left side menu.

  1. Go to iClicker Sync in your Canvas course.
  2. Click Launch iClicker Cloud.
  3. Select the iClicker course you would like to manage.
  4. Click Settings > Integrations. Ensure Grade Sync is turned on. Select your preference for syncing your grades.
    1. Sync Total Score: Selected iClicker session scores are aggregated into a single grade column in the Canvas gradebook.
    2. Sync Individual Session Scores: Selected iClicker session scores sync to separate grade columns in the Canvas gradebook.
    3. Click Save on the top right corner.
  5. Go to Gradebook on the menu on the left. There are 3 different components of the gradebook. Here, you may view the points scored for each student.
    1. Performance – overall quiz/polling score.
    2. Participation – overall attendance score.
    3. Grade Sync – a way to check if grades are synced with Canvas.
  6.   Click “Sync Grades” to upload the iClicker grades to the Canvas gradebook.

An assignment titled “iClicker Grade” will be created automatically in Canvas. The Canvas gradebook will display student’s iClicker grades for this assignment in a new column. On the Assignments page, you may choose to move this assignment to accommodate your grading specifications.

Instructors who work with macOS Catalina (10.15) or newer will need to download the iClicker Cloud software and adjust their macOS settings before running iClicker sessions. This will ensure iClicker question slides are captured for reviewing and grading questions later.

  1. Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy.
  2. Under Privacy, click Screen Recording.
  3. Click on the Lock Icon at the bottom (you might be prompted to enter your computer login password to change the system preference).
  4. Make sure iClicker Cloud is checked.

After the add/drop deadline, if the students are not manually removed from the iClicker Cloud course, the students will still be able to view iClicker activities during the session.
To remove students from the iClicker course after the add/drop deadline.

  1. Go to the People tab
  2. Select the student name you’d like to remove from the course
  3. Click Remove

For students to join the iClicker course, follow the steps outlined in “iClicker Cloud Student Guide”. Students will need to

  1. Set up an iClicker student account
  2. Click the “iClicker Sync” in the Course Navigation on Canvas to add the course to their account
  3. Click Join to participate in iClicker activities when class starts

Once the students are removed from the iClicker Cloud course, they will be automatically blocked from re-enrolling into the course.

  1. If you would like to re-enroll a student, select Removed from the drop-down Filter Students menu at the top of the Students tab.
  2. Select the student
  3. Then click Re-Enroll in the upper right corner.

The student will be moved back into your roster and they will recover the ability to join and participate in your course through the iClicker student app. The student will not lose any points they had previously earned.

Note: Arts ISIT strives to present the most updated and accurate information for UBC members. Please note that vendors update their products regularly and this may cause users to have experiences that are different from what is presented here. In such a scenario, users may reach out to Arts ISIT at arts.helpdesk@ubc.ca. We will test any changes/updates made to the applications, and update our documentation.
Email Arts ISIT Helpdesk Contact ArtsISIT arts.helpdesk@ubc.ca for assistance or a demonstration!

Download iClicker Cloud

UBC Keep Teaching: iClicker Cloud Instructor Guide

UBC Keep Teaching: iClicker Cloud Student Guide

iClicker Support Centre

Any tips or best practices for optimizing the use of iClicker in class?

  1. Students will respond better to using iClickers if they feel the questions provide useful feedback and learning opportunities and are not being used just to mark attendance.
  2. Use clicker questions to give participation points or provide responses for in-class activities. Focus more time on teaching and interacting with students and less time on paperwork and grading.
  3. Provide questions and answers to students after class (or post them online) for students to review.
  4. Check to see if students understand the material from previous classes or out-of-class readings and then provide more focused reviews at the start of class before moving on.
  5. Use clickers to assist in readiness checking for team-based learning activities.
  6. Use before and after questions to see how much students have learned during a lesson and if there are still gaps in understanding.